The massacres of May 1945 in Algeria: A premeditated plot?
Abstract
This study seeks to contribute new insights into an event that has long attracted the attention of historians, namely the events of 8 May 1945. Such an endeavour becomes possible through the availability of significant archival documents.
On Tuesday, 8 May 1945, the Algerian population, like that of the rest of the world, celebrated the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. Yet beyond the general atmosphere of jubilation, many Algerians regarded this day as an opportunity to express their aspirations for freedom and independence. In Sétif, a procession organized by nationalist activists marched through the streets, carrying Algerian flags and banners demanding an end to colonialism. Tensions escalated rapidly when the police forces, supported by armed settlers, attempted to seize the national emblem.
A gunshot rang out, striking in the direction of Saal Bouzid, a young Algerian who had retrieved the national flag from the hands of Aïssa Cheraga. This shot triggered the bloodshed: demonstrators hurled stones, while the police and gendarmes opened fire. Chaos engulfed the town, and the repression quickly assumed massive proportions. Colonial forces deployed military weaponry—rifles, machine guns, and at times even light artillery. The violence soon spread to neighbouring villages.
Meanwhile, settler militias launched punitive raids throughout the countryside, burning homes and killing men, women, and children indiscriminately. Fearing the rise of nationalist sentiment, the colonial authorities had seemingly awaited a pretext to strike forcefully and crush any hint of uprising. Many Algerians of the 7th African Rifle Regiment (7e RTA) had fought in the French army during the Second World War, hoping in return for political reforms and a better future. Their anger and disillusionment deepened in the face of the brutality of the repression and the extent of the horrors revealed.
Most newspapers of the period depicted the Algerians as “bloodthirsty insurgents,” minimizing the number of victims. Yet decades later, collected testimonies contradict this narrative: they recount mass round-ups, torture, summary executions, and enforced disappearances. The active participation of armed Europeans was undeniable, despite its conspicuous absence from official archival records.
The analytical approach adopted consists of reconstructing the facts while respecting their chronology, and attempting to explain the meaning of such an event—particularly what drove France to perpetrate such a massacre.
The corpus used is extensive. It includes official French documents—military reports, newspaper clippings, administrative notes, and materials retrieved from the Overseas Archives Centre—as well as academic studies such as those by J.-P. Peyroulou, Jean-Louis Planche, Mekhalid Boucif, Mahfoud Kheddache, and Ainad-Tabet.
The events of 8 May 1945 constitute a pivotal moment in the development of the national movement. From that point on, there existed a clear “before” and “after” 8 May 1945. The actors of the independence movement drew the necessary lessons for the continuation of their struggle: mass demonstrations and hopes for liberation from the French were no longer viable strategies. Salvation lay in armed struggle.
